Stats 95

Two Branches Of Statistics Descriptive Organize Summarize Communicate … a body of observed data Describe a Population or a Sample Inferential Using sample data to make estimates of the rest of the population Can infer only from a Sample to the Population

Population & Sample or Why Stats Is All Greek To Me Population Includes ALL POSSIBLE OBSERVATIONS Greek Letters Sample A set of observations from a population Roman Letters

Variables Research Variables Independent Variable Dependent Variable Confounding Variable –Variable that systematically varies with Independent Variable –E.g., Income & Health, very often wealthy people are the healthy ones –Can only solve by good design or by limiting scope of conclusion, or controlling statistically

Operational Definition DVs that aren’t subject to biased responses Examples: – Is a painting in a museum popular? There will be increased wear on the carpet near it. – Did a dental flossing lecture work? Students will have cleaner teeth the next day. – Did a safer sex intervention for commercial sex workers work? There will be more condoms discarded in the park they work in.

Variables Quantitative Variables Discrete –Nominal Purely qualitative, no ordering is possible, category or name E.g., Toyota, Ford, Honda; Breast Cancer, Throat Cancer, Lung Cancer –Ordinal Where there is a sequential order, but the intervals are irregular E.g., First, Second, Third; Freshman, Sophomore, Junior Continuous –Scale –Sequential order, and the intervals are regular, but values are not proportional, no Absolute Zero E.g., degrees Fahrenheit or Celsius –Ratio Regular intervals which are proportional, there is an Absolute Zero E.g., degrees Kelvin, Height

Group Discussion: From The Survey What Kind of Quantitative Variables (Nominal, Ordinal, Interval, Ratio): –Please list all the languages you can speak –What is your academic standing? –How many friends do you have on Facebook? (0-100, …) –Please type in the exact number of friends you have on Facebook. –What is your height in inches? –Rate how strongly you are for or against gay marriage. –How many siblings do you have? The answers are not always cut and dry, but influenced by the question you are asking!

Data From Survey: Languages of Stats 95

Facebook Friends of Stats 95 How is the data different from the variables in the “Language Graph”?

The Science of Observation Theory: Statement of relationship –Amongst events otherwise unrelated –For which there is already supportive data (a theory is more than an idea) Hypothesis: Statement of possible relationship between variables which follow logically (but sometimes unexpectedly!) from theory

The Science of Observation Experiment: Test of hypothesis with 2 critical elements (1) Manipulation –independent variable – dependent variable—measured –control group –experimental group (2) Randomization (controls for 3 rd variable) –versus self-selection

Random Sampling and Confounding Variables National polls in this country can be dated back to the early 1800's. The largest of these was Literary Digest, tried to determine the outcome of the 1936 presidential election (Franklin D. Roosevelt and Alfred Landon). They sent out 10 million questionnaires using lists from phone books, vehicle registration lists, and club memberships across the country, from which 2.4 million responded! Today, polls typically rely on the opinions of people. Potential problems???

14 The Science of Observation Validity—able to draw accurate inferences –construct validity: e.g., describing what intelligence is and is not, “construct” refers to the “theory” –predictive validity: over time you find X predicts Y Reliability—same result each time?

Experiments Looking for a Difference Between-Groups Participants experience only one level of the independent variable. –E.g., one group performs their driving license exam after consuming alcohol, and the other group performs the test sober. Within-Groups Participants experience all levels of the independent variable. –All members take the driving license exam twice, once after consuming alcohol, and again, sober.

Correlation Looking for a Relationship Correlation measures the strength of a relationship between two variables, and the direction of the relationship, positive or negative.

Check Your Learning: Survey on Afghanistan & Political Beliefs Discuss the graph, making sure to mention: Sample, Population, Independent Variable, Dependent variable, quantitative variable, confound variables, operationalization, randomization, manipulation